The Iliad & The Odyssey (Unabridged)

Publisher Description

Little is known about the Ancient Greek oral poet Homer, the supposed 8th century BC author of the world-read Iliad and his later masterpiece, The Odyssey. These classic epics provided the basis for Greek education and culture throughout the classical age and formed the backbone of humane education through the birth of the Roman Empire and the spread of Christianity. If Homer did in fact exist, this supposedly blind poet was from some region of Greek-controlled Asia-Minor and recited his poems at festivals and political assemblies. In this extraordinary two volume audio set, the glorious saga again unfolds, telling the story of courage and magical adventure in Ancient Greece.

The Iliad, the first of Homer's epic poems, tells of the counsel of Nestor, Achilles's slaying of Hector, and the defeat of the Trojans by the Greeks.

In The Odyssey, in his perilous journey home after the Trojan War, Odysseus must pass through the land of the Cyclopes, encounter Circe the Enchantress, and face the terrible Charybdis and the six headed serpent Scylla.

Both epics are translated here by Samuel Butler.

GENRE

Drama & Poetry

NARRATOR

JL

John Lescault

LENGTH

28:38

hrmin

RELEASED

2004

December 3

PUBLISHER

Findaway World

PRESENTED BY

Audible.com

LANGUAGE

EN

English

SIZE

802.7

MB

Customer Reviews

The Iliad and Odyssey Come to Life

Before I listened to this pair of audiobooks, I had already read Robert Fagles' translation of The Odyssey, but had never had time to read The Iliad. (It wasn't a requirement for obtaining a degree in physics.) Since it seemed unfortunate to never have read one of the foundations of Western literature, and knowing that I was unlikely to have time to ever read The Odyssey again, I downloaded and listened to both of these books. I'm glad that I did. Even having read The Odyssey, it was magnificent to listen to it aurally, the same way that Homer's original audiences absorbed it. And as for The Iliad, I simply would never have had time to read it. But listening to the story of the siege of Troy with my iPod in my car (hooked into my sound system on a hardline input) while I was driving, and also in my basement as I assembled bookcases, made it easy to finally absorb this masterpiece over the course of a week. The English translation is excellent, and the narrators who perform the readings are likewise excellent: smooth and clear. Considering the number of hours these two books required for recording, this audiobook of the twin masterpieces of early Western literature is a terrific value. I recommend it even for people who have read these books, as reading is not the same as hearing them the way Homer's audiences did.

ray1968
, 09/29/2007

way too expensive

This book is in the public domain; go to librivox (dot) org and D/L for free

Desiree Louise
, 08/19/2009

Homer The Iliad & the Odyssey

I'm not giving this a bad review because of Homer, but because of the guy reading Homer. He is MISERABLE!!! And that's an understatement. There is absolutely zero life in this reading. This guy got paid to do this??? He has no idea how to tell a story. It's painfuly flat. The best you can say is that he does not flub a word. Good for him, terrible for the listener. Do not buy tihs product. I'd love to get my money back for this monotonous droning.